Why would I set it anywhere else?'Īs the book goes out in to the world Stringfellow shared her greatest hope, 'I hope my city is proud of me. The debut author said, 'We're the greatest American city in the world, we're the greatest people in the world, it's the most beautiful land in the world, it's the most beautiful city in the world. Having grown up in Memphis, Tennessee, Stringfellow knew the setting would play an important role in the novel from the beginning (Apr.Shop Apply to be the Read With Jenna Instagram fan of the weekĪs an English teacher, Stringfellow spent her summer vacations writing. This satisfies like a bowl of butter pecan. Just when this starts to feel sentimental, the author makes it achingly real. Hazel, Miriam, August, and Joan are the bold and beautiful North women, and they each take a turn recounting the violence, injustice, abuse, and trauma that shape their lives. There was always music in Memphis”-even as she lays bare its history of racism and violence. Stringfellow Memphis: One of the most anticipated debuts of 2022 Hardcover Apby Tara M Stringfellow (Author) 3,572 ratings Editors' pick Best Books of 2022 See all formats and editions Kindle 13.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook 0.00 Free with your Audible trial Hardcover 15.73 Other new and used from 10. Stringfellow’s debut novel traces the lives of four Black women from a Tennessee family. Stringfellow romanticizes Memphis-“Magnolias were white with bloom and as fragrant as honeysuckle. As the narrative stretches further into the past, the reader learns about Miriam’s mother, Hazel, and how she endured the aftermath of her husband’s lynching in the 1950s.

The reunion-and the tension felt by Joan-sets the stage for an unearthing of family secrets and an exploration of the traumas each generation has survived. Tara Stringfellow will be an author to watch for years to come. Stringfellow tells the story in bits and pieces, moving backward and forward in time there’s a hint early on that Derek, August’s 15-year-old son, harmed Miriam’s 10-year-old daughter, Joan, when they were younger. In 1995, Miriam North flees her abusive husband with their two daughters, returning to Memphis to live with her sister, August, in the house Miriam and August grew up in.

Stringfellow’s vibrant debut celebrates the resilience of women over multiple generations in a Black Memphis family, as well as the city that is central to their lives.

Book memphis by tara stringfellow